Conventional aerial firefighting includes the use of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, usually outfitted with tanks capable of holding thousands of gallons of water or other fire retardant. These aircraft, airtankers or waterbombers as they are sometimes called, are typically filled with fire retardant payloads and flown over fires where the payloads are dumped onto locations below in the hope of extinguishing, suppressing, or otherwise controlling the fire.
During an aerial firefighting attempt, airtankers typically fly at altitudes under 300 feet to improve the effectiveness of the material being dumped form the aircraft. Consequently, firefighting missions are frequently flown through thick smoke, shifting winds, and rugged terrain that often include tall trees and power lines. These conditions typically require aerial firefighting efforts to be performed during daylight hours with good visibility.
Aerial firefighting effectiveness using conventional airtankers is further limited by the problem of the entire payload typically being released over a single target. If only a portion of the payload is needed at a particular target, or if there are multiple targets requiring attention during the same mission the typical airtanker cannot usually adapt by adjusting payload release.